Reversing mechanism for explosive-engines.



No. 811,955. PATBNTED FEB. 6, 1906.

B. B. ROBERTSON. REVERSING MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 20. 1905.

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WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEY PATENTBD FEB. 6, 1906 B. B. ROBERTSON. REVERSIN'G MECHANISM FOR BXPLOSIVB ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 20. 1905.

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ATTORNEY i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN B. ROBERTSON, OF EAST NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.

REVERSING MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSlVE-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1906.

Application filed February 20,1905. Serial No. 246,408.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN B. ROBERTSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at EastNorwalk, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Reversing Mechanism for Explosive-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide simple and inexpensive reversing mechanism for explosive-engines which will entirely do away with reversing-gears, so called, and will by the addition of a few simple parts to an ordinary engine produce a structure in which the reversing of the shaft will be produced through the action of the parts themselves when a driving-dog is tripped by pressure of the foot or a board upon the periphery of the flywheel.

My novel mechanism renders the use of heavy and complicated reversingears wholly unnecessary, does not require any space whatever in addition to the en ine, and does not add appreciably to the welght or cost of the engine. It is, moreover, practically certain in operation and will cause the engine to change the direction of rotation of the shaft at any speed in an instants time without shutting 03 the fuel-supply and without shock to the engine. In order to accomplish this result, I have devised the novel mechanism, which I will now describe, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and using reference characters to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating so much of an explosive-engine as is necessary to show the application thereto of my novel reversing mechanism; Fig. 2, a section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1 looking toward the left, the eccentric and flywheel being in elevation and my novel reversing mechanism being in what I will term for convenience the driving position, the fly-wheel turning over from left to right; and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1, the fly-wheel and the parts of my novel reversing mechanism being in elevation, showing in full lines the position of the parts at the instant the reversing engagement has been effectedthat is, an engagement that will reverse the engine as soon as sparking recommencesand showing in dotted lines the position of the parts at the instant sparking recommences.

10 denotes a cylinder; 11 a piston; 12, a piston-rod 13, a crank; 14, a shaft; 15, an eccentric; 16, an eccentric-strap; 17, an eccentrio-rod; 18, a pump, and 19 a sparker which is operated by the eccentric-rod. The spe cial construction of these parts is wholly unimportant so far as the present invention is concerned, which affects only the hub,(indi cated by 20,) by which the eccentric is carried, and the fly-wheel, (indicated by 21,) which is rigidly secured to the shaft, as by means of a key 22.

23 denotes a circular recess in the inner face of the fiy-wheel, and 24 and 34 oppositelyacting driving-dogs pivoted in the recess and having arms 25, which project outward through openings 26 in the periphery of the fly-wheel in position to be tripped by the foot of the operator or a board when it is desired to reverse the engine without shutting off the fuel-supply.

The hub 20 of the eccentric is mounted partly upon a hub 27, which is a fixed portion of the engine-body, and partly upon the hub 28 of the fly-wheel, but is of course not keyed or otherwise attached to either hub.

29 denotes a rod extending outward radially from hub 20 and the outer end of which lies in recess 23 in the inner face of the fly-wheel and in the path of rotation of the drivingdogs.

37 denotes a pin which extends inward from hub 20 of the eccentric and engages a groove 35 in the hub 28 of the fly-wheel, thereby preventing any lateral displacement of the eccentric. This pin may be a continuation of rod 29, as shown in the drawings, or a sepa rate pin maybe used, if preferred. The inner end of each driving-dog is provided with a notch 30, which is adapted to be engaged by the outer end of rod 29,.

31 and 36 denote stop-pins extending outward from the bottom of recess 23, which are adapted to be engaged by the outer end of rod 29, which when the engine is driving is locked between the inner end of driving-dog 24 and the corresponding stop-pin 31 and when the engine is reversing is locked between drivingdog 34 and the corresponding stop-pin 36, as clearly shown in the drawings. Springs 32, which bear against the inner side of the rim of the fly-wheel and against the driving-dogs, act to retain the latter in operative position, the back of each driving-dog being provided with an incline 33, up which the end of the rod travels when the direction of rotation of the fiy-wheel is changed, as will be more fully explained.

IIO

The operation is as follows: In the posil ing the direction of rotation of the shaft and tion of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2 the flywheel, which is keyed to the shaft, is driving the eccentric in the direction of the arrow through the engagement of driving-dog 24 with rod 29, which is held by the dog in engagernent with pin 31 on the fly-wheel. This movement will continue until the engine is stopped or reversed. To reverse the engine without shutting off the fuel-supply, the operator trips driving-dog 24-that is, disengages said dog from rod 29 by pressing inward upon the arm 25, which projects outward through an opening in the periphery of the fly-wheel. This tripping of the driving dog may be effected by pressing against the periphery of the fly-wheel with the sole of ones shoe or by pressing against it with a board. The pressing inward of locking-dog 34 would of course accomplish no result, and the spring would at once return it to its normal position. As soon, however, as lookingdog 24 is pressed inward or tripped the forward end thereof will disengage rod 29, and thus drop the eccentricthat is, the rotation of the fly-wheel will continue; but the eccentric, which is now disengaged therefrom through the disengagement of rod 29, will at once cease to act and the operation of both the pump and the sparker will stop. The stoppage of the sparker and pump of course stops the explosions, so that the engine is no longer driven. The momentum of the flywheel, however, will still carry it forward, and the piston will reciprocate, the resistance in the cylinder not being sufficient to overcome the momentum of the fly-Wheel until from one and one-half to two revolutions of the flywheel have been made. As the rotation of the fly-wheel continues incline 33 upon the back of locking-dog 34 will be engaged by rod 29, and said locking-dog will be tilted against the power of the spring and will pass rod 29, which will now engage pin 36 and will be locked between said pin and locking-dog 34 when the latter is returned to its normal position by the spring, the end of the rod lying in the notch in locking-dog 34, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. This connects the fly-wheel to the eccentric again and puts the pump and sparker into operation. The forward movement of the fly-wheel will continue from the point at which the stop-pin 36 engages rod 29, as in Fig. 3, to approximately the position in which said rod, stop-pin 36, and driving-dog 34 are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. When the parts are in this position, the first sp arking operation after the eccentric has been again picked up will take place, which will be instantly followed by an explosion. When this explosion takes place, the piston will have made approximately one-half of its forward movement in the cylinder. The explosion will take place in front of the piston and will drive it backward in the cylinder, reversfly-wheel. This reversing of the engine and fly-wheel will cause no shock, for the reason that while the fly-wheel will have ample momentum to carry it to the position at which the sparking operation recommences that momentum will be practically exhausted, so that the reverse movement will take place with perfect certainty, and there will be but little resistance to overcome. I have not illustrated the structure of an engine in detail for the reason that my novel reversing mechanism is applicable to different types of engines. It is sufficient for the purposes of this specification to say that the effect of the explosion which follows the sparking operation is to drive the piston in the opposite direction, which imparts rotation in the opposite direction to the shaft and fly-wheel, which will now rotate in the direction of the dotted arrow in Fig. 3 and will drive the eccentric through the engagement of lockingdog 34 with rod 29, the outer end of said rod being locked between the forward end of locking-dog 34 and pin 36, as clearly shown. This reverse movement of the shaft and flywheel will continue until the fuel-supply is shut off or until the rotation of the shaft and fly-wheel is again reversed i. 6., started forward to drive in the manner already explained and as illustrated in Fig. 2. To start to drive when reversing i. 6., when the fly wheel is rotating in the direction of the dotted arrow in Fig. 3rod 29 will be disengaged from driving-dog 34 by the tripping thereof to stop the eccentric, sparker, and pump, and said rod will be engaged by pin 31 to again start the sparker. The explosion which follows the next sparking operation will take place in front of the piston and will drive the piston in the opposite direction from which it has been moving and will start the shaft and fiy-wheel in the driving direction, and the eccentric will be again operated through the engagement of driving-dog 24 with pin 29. The reversing operation may be performed as frequently as required and at any speed, for the reason that the eccentric will stop as soon as rod 29 is disengaged from either of the driving-dogs, and the momentum of the fly-wheel will be practically exhausted when the sparking operation recommences and reverse rota tion is imparted to'the shaft and fly-wheel.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim 4 1. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a shaft, a fly-wheel and spring-controlled oppositely-acting driving-dogs and corresponding stop-pins on its inner face, of an eccentric having a loosely-mounted hub, an ignition device operated by the eccentric, and a rod extending from the eccentric-hub into the path of the drivingdogs and stop pins, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a fly-wheel having a hub provided with a circumferential groove and spring-controlled oppositely-acting driving-dogs and corresponding stop-pins on its inner face, of an eccentric havin a hub loose on the flywheel hub, an ignition device operated by the eccentric, a rod carried by the eccentrichub and extending into the path of the driving-dogs and stop-pins, and a pin engaging the groove in the fly-Wheel hub, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a fly-wheel having openings in its periphery and spring-controlled oppositelyacting driving-dogs and corresponding stoppins on its inner face, said driving-dogs having arms projecting through the openings in the periphery of the fly-wheel, of an eccentric having a loosely-mounted hub, an ignition device operated by the eccentric, and a rod extending therefrom into the pathof the driving-dogs and stop-pins, the eccentric being operated by one of said driving-dogs when the fly-wheel is turning forward and by the other driving-dog when it is reversing. 4. The combination with an explosive-engine having a body provided with a hub, and a fly-Wheel provided with a hub and having oppositely-acting driving-dogs and corre sponding stop-pins on its inner face, of an eccentric having a hub loosely mounted on said body and fly-wheel hubs, and having a rod extending into the path of the driving-dogs and stop-pins, and an ignition device operated by the eccentric.

5. The combination with the body of an explosive-engine having a hub, and a flywheel provided with a hub having a circumferential groove, and oppositely-acting driv ing-dogs and corresponding stop-p1ns on its inner face of an eccentric having a hub loosely mounted on said body and fly-Wheel hubs and having a rod extending into the path of the driving-dogs and stop-pins and a pin engaging the groove in the fly-wheel hub, whereby the eccentric-carrying hub is held against lateral displacement and an ignition device operated by the eccentric.

6. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a fly-wheel having a hub and oppositely-acting driving-dogs and corresponding stop-pins on its inner face of an eccentric having a hub with a rod extending into the path of the driving-dogs and stop-pins, said rod being locked between one driving-dog and the corresponding stop-pin to actuate the eccentric when the fly-wheel is turning forward and being locked between the other drivingdog and the corresponding stop-pin to actuate the eccentric when the fiy-wheel is reversing and an ignition device operated by the eccentric.

7. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a fly-wheel having openings in its periphery, and spring-controlled oppositelyacting driving-dogs and corresponding stoppins on its inner face, said driving-dogs having arms pro'ecting through the openings in the fly-wheel in position to be tripped and notches at their inner ends of an eccentric having a hub with a rod extending therefrom, the outer end of said rod being adapted to be locked between one of the driving-dogs and the corresponding stoppin and driven by said dog to actuate the eccentric when the fly-wheel is turning forward and to be engaged by the other stop-pin to again pick up the eccentric after the forward driving-dog has been tripped and to be locked between the stop-pin by which it has been engaged and the other driving-dog and be driven by the latter to actuate the eccentric when the fly-wheel is reversing and an ignition device operated by the eccentric. i

8. In an explosive-engine, the combinationwith afly-wheel having spring-controlled oppositely-acting driving-dogs and corresponding stop-pins on its inner face of an eccentric having a loosely-mounted hub with an arm extending into the path of the driving-dogs and stop-pins and an ignition device operated by the eccentric, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

9. In an explosive-engine, the combination with afly-wheel having s ring-controlled oppositely-acting drivingogs and corresponding stop-pins on its inner face of an eccentric having a loosely-mounted hub with a rod extending into the path of the drivingdogs and stop-pins, means for retaining the eccentric-hub against lateral movement and an ignition device operated by the eccentric.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

EDWIN B. ROBERTSON.

Witnesses:

A. M. Woosrns, S. W. ATHERTON. 

